CUMMING, John Ghest. Houston and Killelan, Renfrewshire 29.12.1868 — London 9.3.1958 (when 89). Sir. British (Scottish) Civil Servant in India, Historian of Modern India. Son of Dr. James Simpson C. and Alice Designe Ghest, educated at High School and University of Glasgow and at Balliol College in Oxford, where Boden Scholar of Sanskrit and 1888 M.A. In 1887 he joined the I.C.S. In 1909 secretary and in 1913 chief secretary to the Bengal Government, later member of the Executive Council of Bengal. In 1920 retired on account of ill-health. In 1926-46 Vice-Chairman of S.O.A.S. in London. K.C.I.E. 1920. Apparently unmarried.
Publications: Murray’s Handbook for India. 1924; Modern India: A Co-operative Study. 316 p. L. 1931; Political India, 1832–1932. 332 p. L. 1932.
– Revealing India’s Past: A Co-operative Record of Archæological Conservation and Exploration in India and Beyond. 374 p. L. 1939.
– Bibliography relating to India (1900-1926). 16 p. L. 1927.
– Also wrote on criminology.
Sources: Short obituary, JRAS 1958, 108; mother in ancestry.com; portrait in National Portrait Gallery’s Internet page.
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